The Latest

Contribute. We love to hear your thoughts, your musings and your latest work. Please share with us!
Write a post

Mark Holmgren

Mark Holmgren
Mark Holmgren is the Executive Director of the Edmonton Community Development Company and a former Tamarack Director. He is known for his track record in developing social innovations, including the development of Upside Down Thinking, an approach to thinking differently, if not disruptively.

Recent Posts

35 Voices On Collaborative Leadership and Co-Creating Cities of the Future

Posted by Mark Holmgren on October 18, 2017

In July and August, I sought out individuals in my personal and professional network to contribute to a major paper I was writing on Collaborative Leadership and Co-Creating Cities of the Future. I sought out participation through Facebook, via a survey which I promoted in emails and through Twitter.

Read More

Working yet Homeless in Banff, Alberta

Posted by Mark Holmgren on August 3, 2017

Banff, Alberta. Located in one of the most beautiful areas in Canada. People come from all over the world by the bus loads. There is money being made for sure. Nothing wrong with making money, right?

Read More

Developing Collective Impact Strategies

Posted by Mark Holmgren on July 6, 2017

Those of us engaged in the work of Collective Impact (CI) know that, having this clear and comprehensive framework, is an essential roadmap for effectively tackling complex issues.  However, applying the CI Framework to your own issue and developing wide consensus around a plan of action can still be challenging work.  If you find yourself nodding in agreement to the previous statement, then you will want to be sure to read my latest paper, Developing Collective Impact Strategies in which I share tools and approaches designed to help with the development of collective impact strategies.

Read More

A Simple Community Engagement Dashboard

Posted by Mark Holmgren on June 13, 2017

It is helpful to have a visual representation of your activity and progress with respect to your community engagement strategy. This is a simple dashboard tool that has been set up to allow you to track your goals and your activity over a 12-month period (by month) and then see bar charts auto populate so you can see progress.

Read More

Ending Precarious Employment – A Game-Changer Strategy

Posted by Mark Holmgren on May 19, 2017

Precarious Employment is the jargon people like me use to describe the employment conditions and experiences of a growing number of workers in our country. Here is what that jargon means:

Read More

Mandatory Winter Tires and Poverty

Posted by Mark Holmgren on February 23, 2017

Yes, perhaps an odd title for a posting. I was on my way back home from meeting downtown with Alberta Government colleagues who also work in the poverty reduction arena and I heard this call-in show about winter tires, and more to the point, about whether or not winter tires should be mandatory.

They are mandatory in Quebec now, but even in some provinces without a mandatory requirement, more than 80% of drivers have winter tires. Not so in Alberta, where the percentage is just over 50%. I'm not sure about other low percentage-provinces, but here is what went through my mind.

Read More